Saare sitaare, uske liye – Happy Diwali

Apparently, one should ensure that they write atleast 500 words each day, to be able to keep writing, even if it is a journal entry or a letter to a friend. Work related writing does not count. But if you are in profession of writing, there should be an exception I guess – because you are writing to be read. Not writing to pass on information, or ‘document’ happenings so that ‘everyone is on the same page’. If you know me, I fall in the latter category.

Now that I’m off Twitter (and a good thing to a large extent, because there’s only so much you can scroll on Instagram or Facebook), this is pretty much the only place I can be writing at. That is, if you discount the long-ish mails I exchange with a particular friend on most days – if it’s not month close. This makes me wonder about whether I have enough matter to write about without making this into a journal. Which is not a bad thought in itself, because we forget so many things so fast, and it is nice to have some place to go to and be reminded of everything.

Just last night, while we were playing Let it Go from Frozen for the nth time and Zo was standing enacting each step and singing along, we came across this old animated video called ‘Gummy Bear’ which she used to love 2 years ago. And now, she has no clue about it. It broke my heart a teeny tiny bit because how could something that was so important not too long ago suddenly be a forgotten memory? I can’t forget just how many times I used to sing that song, and she has no idea what it is even. So I played it again, and consoled myself that atleast I have it documented on the blog, along with the other little things Zo has been up to at various points in life.

The sky right now is a dull, motley grey and honestly, I don’t mind it a bit. This side of the world is devoid of winters, and I miss a bit of chill in the air once in a while. And I am choosing to read the overcast skies as a sign of lower temperatures, rather than impromptu rains, or worse still, pollution. It is odd how the mention of pollution made me think of Diwali. Diwali, I can safely declare, has to be my favorite festival. Ofcourse this has to do with my love for lights, and good food, and pretty clothes, and the general cheer in the air.

There was just so much going around this time about not bursting crackers for Diwali – because it caused pollution, because fireworks came from factories using child-labor, because it scared animals – that it almost made sense to not do it. But somewhere, it made me sad, because Diwali was always about crackers. I was never brave enough to venture into atom bombs and sutli bombs and the best I could was a ladi, other than the pansy things like Anar and chakri and fuljhadi and in the later years a few rockets. Basically, I was all about the glitter and not about the boom. And I absolutely love the ‘fragrance’ of fireworks in the air, yes, the smoky fragrance in the cold winter night air, and the zooming rockets in the sky, and every house lighted up with diyas around the wall, and people coming with their thaalis full of sweets and all of us decked up new clothes, I absolutely love it all. And now, I feel guilty about not caring enough for the environment for actually missing the fireworks.

And yes, we skipped them this year, because Zo didn’t show any enthusiasm, and we assumed she wouldn’t like it. Only, she did. She whooped every time a rocket burst into bright stars in the skies, every time we saw an anar, and also when she held the lit ‘pencil’ two days after Diwali. So the next time, it’s happening. I am all for the environment, and I will perhaps cycle or walk to work for a month after, but we deserve some fireworks, and we will have it. It helps that as a personal choice, we do not really like the loud stuff, but next Diwali is definitely going to be brighter.

There was ofcourse, a lot of food, and sweets (still remaining and causing me to bloat) and meeting family and friends and new clothes. In fact, this Diwali, I think we did way more than we had in the last 9 years. I guess it was because we had just been lazy in the past. But this year, I took it upon myself to ensure we were creating enough memories for Zo, now that she is at a stage where she remembers and actually enjoys the festivities. And I think it went quite well. I also like the fact that though Diwali was on Wednesday, the festive mood ensured the whole week somehow felt brighter. Or maybe it was just the Diwali lights we have still not taken down.

But now we are back to a full-blown work week. It’s just Monday, and I already a wee bit tired or maybe it is because it is Monday. You know the whole ‘Monday’ feeling. But this too shall pass. And then we will have a week for it to return again.

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2 thoughts on “Saare sitaare, uske liye – Happy Diwali”

Hello! Saw your post now! Happy diwali! 🙂
And I completely agree on the crackers bit. One day in an year is ok, I guess. Saw my 4 year old niece’s eye lite up in joy when she saw rockets! Worth it! 🙂
Btw, where are comments on this new layout? Can’t see them anywhere!

Hey! We have had our share of Diwali fun, and we can’t make it zero for the kids today, to make up for the pollution WE continue to cause through our cars and stuff!
Also, I assume you can’t see comments cos there aren’t any 😐 I think most readers went into shock when my page was being updated this often! 😮 😉